Synopsis
MOLLY TALKS ABOUT HER DAD CONSTANTLY.
He’s a famous artist! He’s been to space! He can make anything!
But what she doesn’t tell her classmates is that all she really knows about her dad is what he looks like in photographs. When Molly finally meets her father for the first time, she’s disappointed that he’s nothing like the tall tales she invented. What will her classmates say when she brings him for show-and-tell? But Molly’s dad has some tricks up his sleeve, and he turns out to be better than an astronaut or an artist. He’s an amazing storyteller—just like Molly. Thompson’s expressive lines dance with Ormerod’s energetic characters in this poignant tale of parent and child.
Children's Literature
Molly, like many youngsters, hasn't seen her dad in a long time, since he lives "a whole plane ride away." Her classmates' dads come to school often, but Molly can only tell stories about hers. Finally one day her mom has to go away for a week, and her dad comes to take care of her. Molly doesn't know what to think about him; he is so very different from her mom. But when he comes to school with her and tells great stories, they begin to bond. They have a really good time together until mom comes home and dad has to leave. But they have established a relationship that will warm Molly's heart long after. The emotional climate of the story is established on the front of the cover, where Molly gazes lovingly at her wildly dancing father. Thompson uses black pastels applied with lively abandon and loosely brushed transparent paints; even the book's title swings in three colors as written in a cursive flourish. The front end pages show Molly's face drawn many times seemingly with her own crayon or pastel; on the back end pages are vignettes of her fun with her dad. The pages of the story bounce with vignettes and frequent speech balloons, producing a vital visual tale of a non-traditional father and the daughter who learns to love him. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz